Austria's News in English

Read the latest headlines about other developments in Vienna and Austria

Diplomats for the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia 2019

More and more embassies, delegations and permanent representations to international organisations supported this day (IDAHOBIT), that raises awareness of LGBT rights violations and stimulate interest in LGBT rights work worldwide, as well as EuroPride 2019 in Vienna.

May 29, 2019

"Climate Kirtag" with Greta Thunberg and Arnold Schwarzenegger

The climate protection conference "R20 Austrian World Summit" at the Heldenplatz in Vienna ended with appeals by climate protection activist Greta Thunberg and Arnold Schwarzenegger at the "Climate Kirtag".

May 29, 2019

Amerika Haus: Rushan Abbas About Concentration Camps in Xinjiang, China

Rushan Abbas, a Uighur American whose family members have been detained in China, spoke at the Amerika Haus Wien about various human rights violations against Uyghurs in China’s Xinjiang province. In her presentation "China’s Concentration Camps in a Muted World" she pointed out, that far West China’s Uyghur people, a minority Muslim group, face a high-tech police state, cultural genocide, and mass detainment in modern concentration camps.

May 29, 2019

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Greta Thunberg at the Vienna Climate Summit

The 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger are campaigning in the Vienna Hofburg for a stronger commitment against the climate crisis.

May 28, 2019

Song Duet with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Andreas Gabalier

The Styrian-American film star Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Styrian singer Andreas Gabalier have recorded together the motivation song "Pump it Up", a mixture of English rap singing performances. The song is about motivation and achieving your goals. The video also shows the two Styrians at sports.

May 28, 2019

European Elections - Who Stands for Election and How Can a Non-Austrian EU Citizen Vote in Austria?

After the political earthquake in Austria and the end of the turquoise-blue government, the EU election on Sunday is eagerly awaited. A decision will be made on 18 EU mandates from Austria. In European elections, EU citizens are entitled to vote in Austria as long as they are registered in the European electoral register.

May 24, 2019

Jewish Museum: "Café As. The Survival of Simon Wiesenthal"

Simon Wiesenthal is known today as the man who dedicated his life to justice for the victims of the Shoah. But his profession as an architect, which he pursued until his persecution by the Nazi regime, has fallen into oblivion. The exhibition "Café As. Das Überleben des Simon Wiesenthal" shows 80 detailed designs by Wiesenthal for the "Café As", which he made for the Polish prisoner Edmund Staniszewski, who repeatedly gave him food and thus saved his life.

May 22, 2019

Mongolia in Its Perception in Austria

A conference lasting several days entitled "Mongolia in its Perception in Austria - Die Mongolei in ihrer Wahrnehmung in Österreich" will present Mongolia from a scientific, political and cultural perspective. Culinary delights from Mongolia will not be neglected.

May 21, 2019

Edmund Kalb - One of the Most Fascinating Artists of the 20th Century

With its exhibition dedicated to Edmund Kalb (1900–1952), the Leopold Museum is presenting an artist whose oeuvre, dominated by more than 1,000 self-portraits, is still largely unknown.

May 21, 2019

International Research Institute IST to Celebrate 10th Anniversary

The "IST - Institute of Science and Technology Austria" in Maria Gugging near Klosterneuburg celebrates its 10th anniversary and invites for this reason to a festive event in its premises. What began 10 years ago with four professors is today an international scientific institution with 700 employees. Among the speakers and participants of the evening are Alexander Van der Bellen, Sebastian Kurz, Heinz Fassmann, Johanna Mikl-Leitner, Thomas A. Henzinger, Michael Ignatieff, Daniel Zajfman, Alice Dautry and Edith Heard.

May 21, 2019

Vienna Chamber of Commerce Opened New Headquarters

The Vienna Chamber of Commerce, a branch of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce, has recently moved into a new ten-storey building near the Vienna Prater, the so-called "Haus der Wiener Wirtschaft". In this building, ten locations from five districts were combined and now all services can be found under one roof.

May 20, 2019

Standardised Austria-wide Autumn Holidays as of 2020/21

From the school year 2020/21 there will be uniform autumn holidays in Austria between National Day and All Saints Day - from 27 to 31 October - according to the unanimous decision of the Austrian National Council. There will be no additional school holidays, the teaching time will not be changed. Only the distribution of school-autonomous days will change. Specifically, the days off after Easter and Whitsun will be cancelled. This would ensure relief for pupils, teachers and parents.

May 16, 2019

ALPS 2019: How Diplomacy and Commerce Fit Together

As part of the 11th ALPS round in May 2019, 21 international company and start-up founders from 13 non-EU countries had the opportunity to make contact with Austrian decision-makers, explore ways of working together and develop new ideas.

May 16, 2019

Chinese Whispers - 中国私语

Don't miss the Chinese contemporary art exhibition "Chinese Whispers: Recent Art from the Sigg Collection", which shows 100 objects from the collection of the Swiss collector Uli Sigg until 26 May in the MAK - Museum of Applied Arts. Among other artists, works by internationally renowned artists such as Ai Weiwei, Cao Fei, Feng Mengbo, He Xiangyu, Liu Ding, and Song Dong are on display.

May 15, 2019

Africa! Africa! - The Continent of Amazement Returns to Vienna

André Heller's new production of his tour comes back to Vienna. Africa! Africa! inspired more than 180.000 spectators last year. This year's tour features spectacular new numbers and award-winning artists.

May 15, 2019 · Sponsored Content

The Ambassadors of the Four Allied Powers in the Austrian Federal Chancellery

On the occasion of the "Liberation" Day of Austria from National Socialism by the Allies in 1945 and the end of the Second World War (Victory in Europe Day), Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz received the four ambassadors of the USA (Trevor Traina), Great Britain (Leigh Turner), France (representative of Francois Marcel Michel Saint-Paul) and Russia (Dmitrij Ljubinskij) at the Federal Chancellery.

May 13, 2019

The Vienna Festival 2019 is Opened

The Wiener Festwochen (Vienna Festival) were opened and started with a mainly female stage. The Vienna Festival is a cultural festival in Vienna that takes place every year for five weeks in May and June. The Wiener Festwochen show theatre, opera and dance productions from all parts of the world and also perform as producers of international productions.

May 10, 2019

Hermann Nitsch - Rooms Made of Colour

On the occasion of the 80th birthday of the Austrian painter and action artist Hermann Nitsch, his works can be seen and experienced in the Albertina as monumental colour spaces and rubble installations. The exhibition "NITSCH. Räume aus Farbe" shows Nitsch's pictures for the first time as painting for themselves: it bursts the dimensions of the panel painting, conquers the wall across the entire surface and intervenes in the room as a comprehensive installation.

May 10, 2019

1989-2019: Europe Exhibition Opened at Vienna`s Heldenplatz

The new exhibition "Moving Moments - The End of the Division of Europe" (Bewegende Momente - Das Ende der Teilung Europas) looks back on the fall of the Iron Curtain and pays tribute to the achievements of the people in these mostly peaceful revolutions. It also shows how the European Union is seen today by young people from these countries.

May 10, 2019

Commemoration Ceremony at the Mauthausen Concentration Camp

Memorial Day against Violence and Racism for the Victims of National Socialism and Liberation of the Mauthausen Concentration Camp on 5 May 1945, where 100,000 people were murdered.

May 6, 2019

UNESCO - Austria Awarded Two More World Heritage Sites

In addition to the currently troubled "Historical Centre of Vienna", which is to be preserved as a World Heritage Site, two other Austrian sites will be added to the World Heritage List at the next UNESCO meeting in Baku at the end of June. The "Danubian Limes" (Donaulimes), part of the former border of the Roman Empire, and the "Grossglockner High Alpine Road", the highest surfaced mountain pass road in Austria. Thus Austria will have 12 World Heritage Sites starting in summer 2019.

May 6, 2019

150 Anniversary of the Vienna State Opera

25 May 2019 marks the 150th anniversary of the opening of the opera house on the Ring, and the Vienna State Opera intends to celebrate this with a total of nine premieres. The premiere of Richard Strauss' Woman Without a Shadow (Frau ohne Schatten) will be the formal highlight of the evening, preceded by a ceremony in the morning and followed by a celebration at Herbert von Karajan-Platz the following day.

May 3, 2019

Antisemitism in Austria - Initiative to Reverse Worrying Trends

As the Jewish community in Austria reports growing concerns about the rise of antisemitism, at the invitation of the FRA - EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, local and EU policymakers, Jewish community organisations and civil society met to discuss how to combat this worrying trend.

May 3, 2019

Vindobona Wishes You Happy Easter 2019

Happy Easter to you and your family and sincere thanks for your loyalty! The Vindobona Team

April 19, 2019

The Oeuvre of Multitalented Jewish-Austrian Artist Arik Brauer

Arik Brauer, son of a Lithuanian Jewish shoemaker, is an Austrian-born painter, printmaker, poet, dancer, singer, and stage designer. The Jewish Museum Vienna celebrates him as a man and artist on his 90th birthday and presents the different facets of his work.

April 19, 2019

Austrian Volker Türk Appointed Top UN Official

The Austrian lawyer and UN official Volker Türk was appointed by UN Secretary-General António Guterres as one of his deputies with the title Assistant Secretary-General for Strategic Coordination.

April 19, 2019

Vienna's Jewish Square and Europe

The US historian Timothy Snyder will give a lecture on the topic "Judenplatz 1010 - A speech to Europe 2019". The place and time chosen for the lecture are no coincidence: European history is presented at Vienna’s Judenplatz like in no other place.

April 18, 2019

The Elegance and Tradition of a Japanese Samurai Family

On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Japanese-Austrian relations, the World Museum Vienna is dedicating an exhibition to the prominent Hosokawa Samura family.

April 11, 2019

Robbery of 10 Mio Euro in Front of Austrian Airlines Plane in Albania

During a robbery at Tirana International Airport, robbers tried to steal 10 million euros from an Austrian Airlines aircraft. The plane was supposed to bring the money to Vienna and was just loading. In a fire fight with the police, a perpetrator was killed on the run. All robbers had been identified and the police are pursuing the rest of the gang.

April 10, 2019

Casinos Austria Appoints Bettina Glatz-Kremsner as New CEO

Ms Bettina Glatz-Kremsner succeeds Mr Alexander Labak as Director of the Management Board of Casinos Austria AG.

April 6, 2019

New Working Holiday Program Enables Young Argentinians to Experience Living in Austria

Austria includes the largest Spanish-speaking nation, Argentina, in its range of working holiday programmes, so that in the future young people between 18 and 30 years of age from both countries will be able to travel more easily to the other country and gain new valuable experience on the labour market during a given period.

April 5, 2019

Vienna City Marathon 2019: Run Vienna – Enjoy Classics

Vienna has again and again been crowned the most livable city in the world. It is imperial, vibrant, and the perfect host city for thrilling events. Experience the impressive scenery of historic and modern architecture at a run past Vienna's most beautiful sights. The Vienna City Marathon will take place on 7 April 2019. Over 42,000 runners will take part in the event.

April 5, 2019

Silvana Meixner Receives Ari Rath Prize for Critical Journalism 2019

ORF journalist and presenter Silvana Meixner will be awarded the second Ari-Rath Prize for Critical Journalism on May 6th, 2019, the Day of Freedom of the Press. This prize was established to honour journalists who have rendered outstanding services to critical reporting on immigration, expulsion and asylum, committed to respect for human rights, in the spirit of the former editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post, Ari Rath (pictured) who died in January 2017.

April 4, 2019

Rotes Wien 1919-2019: 100 Years of Socialist Avant-Garde and Quality of Life

The socialist and later social democratic Vienna celebrates its success story in the form of a series of events, exhibitions and specials. The city administration sees the period of the "Red Vienna" (from 1918 to 1934) as a founding myth that continues to have an impact to this day and shapes the DNA of the city, and is comparable to New York City as a melting pot and Ellis Island.

April 4, 2019

Vienna's Diversity Ball 2019: "Masquerade"

The 12th Diversity Ball 2019 with the theme "Maskerade" (Masquerade) will take place on May 4th 2019 and will transform the location Kursalon Wien into a shining symbol for practiced tolerance. In a glittering ball night the organizers would like to set a further example for the diversity of their community, for tolerance, for accessibility and for mutual respect.

March 28, 2019 · Sponsored Content

Former Top Indian Diplomat Returns to Vienna

Shivshankar Menon, former Foreign Secretary and National Security Adviser of India, who speaks some German, will visit Vienna in April, where he regularly visited the IAEA from 2008 to 2014, as a member of India's Atomic Energy Commission. At a time when tensions between India and Pakistan are particularly high, he will talk about "The New Asian Geopolitics".

March 28, 2019

Danube Tower - Viennese Landmark Celebrates New Beginning

After the modernisation, revitalisation and expansion of the Danube Tower (Wiener Donauturm) by the Blaguss Group for more than ten million euros and the creation of 30 new jobs and a new e-shuttle, the tower was reopened. The restaurant, located at a height of 170 metres, offers a fantastic view over Vienna and turns every dinner and celebration into a unique experience.

March 27, 2019

Vienna-Campus of Central European University to be Temporarily Set Up in Southern Vienna

The CEU Central European University of George Soros announces that it has opted for an interim location in Vienna's Favoriten, the "heart of the multicultural 10th district". This campus is scheduled to start operations in autumn 2019. By 2023, the university will be moved as planned to the premises of the Otto Wagner Hospital on Baumgartner Höhe in Vienna's 14th municipal district.

March 22, 2019

Great American Artist Mark Rothko in Vienna

Mark Rothko (1903–1970) was among the most remarkable artists (abstract expressionist) of the twentieth century. This exhibition, the first ever to be mounted in Austria, presents a survey of Rothko’s career through more than forty major paintings to explore ideas of the sacred, the spiritual, the tragic and the timeless.

March 22, 2019

Rubens to Makart - Liechtenstein - The Princely Collections

This year marks the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Principality of Liechtenstein. The Albertina celebrates this anniversary with a large exhibition entitled "Rubens bis Makart. Die Fürstlichen Sammlungen Liechtenstein". Works such as Peter Paul Rubens' Venus, the life-size bronze sculpture of Christ in Misery by Adrian de Fries or the recently acquired bronze bust of Emperor Marc Aurel are just as much the focus of the show as are the selected art treasures of the world-famous Biedermeier collection.

February 19, 2019 · Updated: March 22, 2019; 11:00

Viennese Merchants' Guild Prepares for Chinese Century

Something is happening in the Viennese school system. The VBS Vienna Business School will offer its students the opportunity to learn Chinese (Mandarin) at all six school locations from autumn onwards and to take advantage of an extensive range of Chinese language and culture courses.

March 18, 2019

Welcome Expats - Vienna Remains the Most Livable City in the World

In 2019 Vienna was again rated by the international consulting agency Mercer as the city with the highest quality of life worldwide. In the special evaluation on the subject of personal security, however, Vienna was only ranked 6th.

March 14, 2019

Iraqi Expert Roundtable in Vienna - How to Reconstruct the City of Mosul?

More than 70 experts from Iraq, Austria and the relevant international community met in Vienna at the invitation of the Austro-Arab Chamber of Commerce to discuss the reconstruction of the devastated northern Iraqi city of Mosul and find solutions. Here is the report of the Expert's Round Table on the Reconstruction of the City of Mosul.

March 14, 2019

Una Notte Italiana at the Concordia Ball 2019

The Concordia Ball, the most important ball held annually at Vienna City Hall, will take place on Friday, 14 June 2019 under the motto "Una Notte Italiana". If you have always dreamed of elegantly waltzing through a festively decorated ballroom, look no further! Grab your dancing shoes, dress in your best gown and enjoy a stunning experience in the home town of the Waltz!

March 7, 2019

New International Bus Terminal to be Built in Vienna - 270 Buses per Day - 5 Mio Passengers per Year

Until 2024, Vienna will finally get a central and modern long-distance bus terminal, which will also become a flagship and showpiece for arriving tourists. 200,000 arrivals and departures of long-distance buses with around five million passengers per year are to be realized at the new terminal in Leopoldstadt directly next to the Dusika Stadium.

March 6, 2019

Vienna Restaurant Week - Top-Class Chefs Serve at a Fixed Price

The Vienna Restaurant Week (Wiener Restaurantwoche) enters its next season. Dozens of Vienna's top restaurants offer great menus at a reduced fixed price from March 18 to 24.

March 6, 2019 · Sponsored Content

Prime Minister of the Newly Named Republic of North Macedonia at the Vienna Opera Ball

Only a few days after the historic renaming of the Republic of Macedonia into the Republic of North Macedonia, Zoran Zaev, Prime Minister of the Republic of North Macedonia, visited Vienna at the invitation of Federal Chancellor Kurz and together they visited the Vienna Opera Ball.

March 1, 2019 · Updated: March 4, 2019; 12:33

Benko-Hyatt Project - New Luxury Lifestyle Hotel Opens in Vienna in April 2019

The first Andaz Hotel in Austria, the boutique hotel "Andaz Vienna Am Belvedere" at the new Vienna Central Station, opposite the 21er Haus and the Schweizergarten, next to the park apartments at the Belvedere, is to be opened on 17 April 2019. It is the second project and a 50:50 joint venture between René Benko's Signa Group and Andaz Hotels, an affiliate of Hyatt Hotels Corporation.

March 1, 2019 · Sponsored Content

Austrian Citizenship Awarded to Nearly 10,000 Foreigners

The number of naturalisations in Austria in 2018 was 1.9% higher than in the previous year. A total of 9,450 persons were granted Austrian citizenship, including 95 resident abroad. Following an interesting analysis of the different legal grounds for naturalisation.

February 28, 2019

EU Citizens in Austria - Vote for Your Austrian MEP at the European Elections 2019

EU citizens who have their main residence in Austria can vote for Austrian members of the European Parliament. Here we show you how this works and who you can choose.

February 25, 2019